In brief
Israel’s air force targeted a police station in northern Gaza’s Jabalia area, using four missiles that struck the post and surrounding areas, killing seven individuals, including a senior officer. The Gaza Police Department hailed the attack a "massacre", while Israeli officials labeled the victims as Hamas operatives. The incident adds to a string of daily ceasefire violations reported by both sides since the October 2023 conflict. Meanwhile, similar strikes in southern Gaza and Rafah have claimed more Palestinian lives, underscoring the escalating conflict and the impact on civilians. Both parties accuse each other of abandoning ceasefire agreements, raising international concern about ongoing hostilities.
An Israeli drone fired four missiles at a police station run by the Hamas‑controlled interior ministry in northern Gaza’s Jabalia area, killing seven people, officials said.
Witnesses told the BBC the strike hit the post and nearby market, inflicting both police and civilian casualties.
The Gaza Police Department identified the senior officer killed as Col Mohammed Marwan Salem and listed several other officers among the dead, condemning the attack as a massacre.
Israeli officials said Salem was head of military security for Hamas’s Central Jabalia Battalion and that three other fighters were also killed, naming the victims as Abdul Malik al‑Jabin, Ghassan al‑Daqas and Yaman Abu Obeida. They noted that the first two were police officers.
The casualties were brought to Al‑Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, where the uncle of another dead officer insisted the man was a civilian.
In related incidents, Israeli air strikes killed a man and injured three others in the Khan Younis area and, in Rafah, a 10‑year‑old boy named Muataz Abu Shaar was killed by Israeli gunfire while sitting in his tent and changing clothes.
Both Israel and Hamas continue to accuse each other of daily violations of the October ceasefire, with Gaza claiming over 1,110 Palestinian deaths since then, while Israel reports four soldiers lost to Palestinian attacks.
The war, which erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 assault on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, has led to a total of more than 73,230 Palestinian fatalities according to the territory’s health ministry.
These latest events highlight the fragility of the ceasefire and the ongoing dangers civilians face amid the conflict.
